Original Word: פָסַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: pacal
Pronunciation: pah-sahl
Phonetic Spelling: (paw-sal')
KJV: grave, hew
NASB: cut, carved
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to carve, whether wood or stone

grave, hew

A primitive root; to carve, whether wood or stone -- grave, hew.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to hew, hew into shape
NASB Translation
carved (1), cut (5).

מָּסַל verb hew, hew into shape (Late Hebrew Pi`el hew off boughs; Aramaic מְּסַל, = Biblical Hebrew; Nabataean פסלא stone-cutter); —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular suffix מְּסָלוֺ Habakkuk 2:18; Imperfect3masculine singular וַיִּפְסֹל Exodus 34:4, etc.; Imperative masculine singular מֲּסָלֿ Exodus 34:1; Deuteronomy 10:1; — hew out stone tablets Exodus 34:1,4; Deuteronomy 10:1,3; building-stones 1 Kings 5:32; with cognate accusative (suffix referring to מֶּסֶל) Habakkuk 2:18.

Overview of the Verb’s Function in Scripture

The Hebrew verb פָּסַל depicts the deliberate act of shaping hard material—most often stone—by cutting, chiseling, or carving. In Scripture it is applied to both divinely sanctioned activity (forming the stone tablets of the covenant) and condemned human enterprise (fashioning lifeless idols). The word’s six occurrences trace a movement from covenant grace, through royal craftsmanship, to prophetic exposure of false worship.

Covenant Tablets at Sinai and Horeb (Exodus 34:1, 4; Deuteronomy 10:1, 3)

After Israel’s apostasy with the golden calf, the Lord commanded Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals” (Exodus 34:1). Moses obeyed (Exodus 34:4), and forty years later recounted the event: “Carve out two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to Me on the mountain” (Deuteronomy 10:1).
• Divine Initiative: The Lord directs the chiseling, underscoring that the covenant originates with Him; human skill merely prepares a surface for God’s written word.
• Covenant Continuity: The second and third uses in Deuteronomy mirror the Exodus commands, assuring the wilderness generation that the covenant stands despite earlier failure.
• Pedagogical Symbolism: Stone tablets communicate permanence; the act of chiseling points to the enduring authority of the commandments.

Solomonic Quarrying for the Temple (1 Kings 5:18)

“So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal quarried the stone” (1 Kings 5:18). Here the verb describes skilled labor that serves true worship by providing finely prepared masonry for the house of the Lord.
• Collaboration: Israelites and Gentiles labor side by side, hinting at the temple’s future role as a house of prayer for all nations.
• Preparation in Silence: Parallel passages note stones were finished at the quarry (1 Kings 6:7); the chiseling away from the temple mount underscores reverence and anticipates Paul’s imagery of believers being “built together” without discord.

Idolatrous Carving Condemned (Habakkuk 2:18)

“What use is an idol, that a craftsman has carved it— a metal image, a teacher of lies?” (Habakkuk 2:18). The same technical proficiency that upheld covenant and temple is here exposed as vanity when divorced from submission to God.
• Futility of Human Effort: The carved idol is a “teacher of lies,” offering no breath or counsel.
• Trust Misplaced: The craftsman “trusts in his own handiwork,” a stark contrast to Moses, who relied on divine inscription.

Theological Themes

1. Word Versus Image: Carved stone tablets bear God’s speech; carved idols suppress it. The verb thereby frames the Bible’s ongoing tension between revelation and misrepresentation.
2. Divine Sovereignty and Human Skill: Human craftsmanship is honorable when it serves God’s purposes (tablets, temple) but becomes idolatrous when it supplants Him.
3. Permanence of Revelation: Stone—the hardest available medium—highlights the enduring nature of God’s covenant, later echoed in the promise of the law written on hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

Historical and Cultural Background

Stone working was a prized trade in the ancient Near East, demanding precision tools of copper or iron. Quarry sites such as those near Gebal (Byblos) produced large blocks transported by raft to Jerusalem. Craftsmen also specialized in small cultic figurines; Habakkuk indicts this widespread practice, showing Israel’s prophetic voice addressing the broader cultural milieu.

Ministry Implications

• Preaching: Contrast God-given tablets with self-made idols to call congregations from self-reliance to reliance on Scripture.
• Discipleship: Like stones shaped for the temple, believers undergo sanctifying “chiseling” to fit into God’s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).
• Apologetics: Habakkuk’s exposure of idolatry remains relevant when confronting modern ideologies that place ultimate trust in human invention.

Summary

פָּסַל binds together scenes of covenant renewal, temple building, and prophetic critique. Whether in Moses’ hands or in an idol-maker’s workshop, the chisel reveals the heart behind the work. Yielded to God, the tool prepares vessels of revelation; wielded in autonomy, it fabricates lies. The verb therefore challenges every generation to ensure its craftsmanship—literal or metaphorical—serves the living God whose word endures forever.

וַֽיִּפְסְל֞וּ וַיִּפְסֹ֡ל וָאֶפְסֹ֛ל ואפסל ויפסל ויפסלו פְּסָל־ פְסָלוֹ֙ פסל־ פסלו fesaLo p̄ə·sā·lōw pə·sāl- pəsāl- p̄əsālōw pesol vaefSol vaiyifseLu vaiyifSol wā’ep̄sōl wā·’ep̄·sōl way·yip̄·sə·lū way·yip̄·sōl wayyip̄səlū wayyip̄sōlInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts